Dust-cap for automobiles



S. H. SABEL.

DUST CAP FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLlcAloN FILED JULY 5,1921.

Patented Nov. l5, 1921..

TAFE@ nuire SIDNEY RALPH SAIBEIL,

p OF CHICAGO, ELLENOIS.

IJUST-CAP FR AUTOMOBILES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

lPateiited Nov.. 15, 1921.

Application led July 5, 1921. Serial No. 482,310.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, SIDNEY RALPH SABEr., citizen of the United States, residing'at Chicago, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in a Dust-Cap for Automobiles; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates. to dust caps for shielding the exposed valve stems on pneumatic tires as used with automobiles or other vehicles. Generally speaking, it is the aim of my invention to provide an unusually simple and easily constructed and easily manipulated cap for this purpose, and to arrange the same so that the cap proper can be detached in a minimum of time and so that the detaching of this cap proper will not tend to loosen the portion of the device which supports the same. Furthermore, my invention aims to provide an appliance of this kind which will have no levers or fingers projecting beyond the cap proper, which will not require any lateral openings in the latter, and which will hold the cap proper firmly intel-locked with the holder portion of the device without requiring an undue accuracy in the'maniifacture of the constituent parts. Still further and more detailed objects will appear from the following specification and from the accompanying drawings in which- Figure l is an elevation of the cap proper or detachable portion otmy appliance.

Fig. 2 is a corresponding elevation of the stationary portion of the appliance.

Fig. 3 is a central and vertical section through the assembled appliance.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section. taken along the correspondingly numbered line of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the cap proper of Fig. l.

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the assembled ap liaiice as shown in- Fig. 3.

n the embodiment of the drawings, the appliance of my invention comprises a nipple l having at its bottom a female thread 2 adapted to be threaded upon the usual stem of a tire valve, and having a hexagonal `base 3 disposed within a hexagonal collar' 5 4soldered to 4 which has a contracted to the base 3 of the nipple. unched out of the nipple and projecting at opposite sides from the latter are a pair of spring tongues 5 each of which has its free end directed the latter can readily ple l is a. companion member 7, or detach` able cap portion, which consists substantially of an elongated thimble closed at its upper end and provided with a pair of outwardly directed recesses 8 adapted respectively to house the said tongues 6. Each of these recesses or niches desirably has an end wall 9 extending outwardly substantially radially of the axis of the cap and adapt-ed to engage a lateral edge of the tongue 6 housed by the said recess. However, tlie outer wall of the recess slopes gradually into the cylindrical main wall portion of the cap-at the other side of the niche or recess after the manner shown in Fig. 4, while the bottom of the recess is substantially horizontal so as to afford a ledge engaging the tip of the adjacent tongue when the detachable cap portion is in its normal position as shown in Fig. 3.

The nipple l or stationary portion of the appliances is made of s ome spring metal, so that each tongue normally is directed outwardly' by its own resiliency without requiring any auxiliary spring, and so that each of the said tongues may be flexed inwardly when the detachable cap portion is to be withdra This detaching is effected by partially rotating the detachable cap portion in a direction which is clockwise in F ig. 4, thereby causing the inner wall of each recess to act as a cam for forcing the adjacent lspring tongue inwardly or into alinement with the main cylindrical wall of the nipple l. `When the detachable cap portion has thus been rotated suiiiciently to swing the recess entirely to one side of the adjacent tongue, this cap portion can readily be slid oiip the end of the stationary nipple.

In replacing the detachable cap portion, be slipped from the free end of the nipple with the recesses in alinement with the spring tongues and slid longitudinally into position, as the cylindrical lower end 10 of the cap portion will force the spring tongues inwardly until this end portion clears the tip of the tongues, whereupon the resiliency of the tongues will cause these to snap into the recesses and lock the detachable cap portion in position. To prevent an unscrewing of the threaded poi'- tion 2 from the lvalve stem when the detachable cap is det-ached, I preferably dispose the side wall 9 of each recess so that the partial rotation necessary for forcing the spring tongues out of therecesses housing the same will be in a direction tending to screw the nipple more firmly upon the stem of the tire valve. I also desirably form each recess 8 with its exposed end wall 9 parallel to the axis of the cap, and form each spring tongue with the corresponding edge, 14, in a plane axial of the cap, so that any attemptto rotate the cap in the wrong direction will cause the said edge ot' the tongue to engage the end wall 9 of the niche along a considerable portion of its length, thereby preventing such an attempt from bending the tongue out of shape. A

To insure a completely dust-proof closure, I desirably insert a leather washer or gasket 13 in the hexagonal collar 4 and I may also employ a washer or gasket 12 between the bottom of the detachable cap and the top of the collar 4 after the manner shown in Fig. 3. -By so doing, it will be obvious that my appliance provides an entirely sealed closure, as its construction requires no apertures whatever through which dust might filter in.

However, while I have heretofore described my invention in a highly desirable embodiment including a hexagonal base portion and a gasket, I do not wish to be limited to these or other details of the construction and arrangement thus disclosed, it being 0bvious that the same might be modified in many ways without departing from the spirit oi' my invention or from the appended y claims.

I claim as my invention:v

l. A dust cap for tire valves or the like, comprising a stationary tubular member and a detachable cap member sleeved upon the same, one of `the said members having spring fingers directed toward the other membery and engaging shoulders on the latter, the latter member having cam surfaces 'adapted upon a partial rotation of the cap to fiex the said fingers out of engaging relation to the shoulders to permit the detaching of the cap.

2. A dust cap for tire valves or the like, comprising a stationary nipple equipped with spring fingers directed outwardly and rearwardly of the nipple, and a cap sleeved upon the nipple and having outwardly directed recess formations respectively housing the fingers, each such recess having itsrear wall normally engaged by the cap to pre vent withdrawal of the latter from the collar, each recess having at one side an inner cam surfacey adapted upon partial rotation ot' the cap to flex the adjacent finger out of engaging relation to the rear wall of the recess.

A dust cap for tire valves or the like, comprising a stationary nipple threaded upon the stem of the valve and equipped with spring fingers extending outwardly and rearwardly ot' the nipple, and a cap sleeved upon the nipple and equipped with recesses respectively housing the said fingers, each recess having its rear wall normally engaged by the adjacent finger and having its outer wall sloped for flexing the inger inwardly upon partial rotation of the cap in the direction tending to tighten the nipple on the valve stem.

4. A dust cap for tire Valves or the like, comprising a stationary nipple threaded upon the stem of the valve and equipped with spring fingers extending outwardly and rearwardly of the nippleA and a cap sleeved upon the nipple and vequipped with recesses respectively housing the said fingers, each recess having its rear wall normally engaged by the adjacent finger and having its outer wall sloped for iiexing the finger inwardly upon partial rotation of the cap in the direction tending to tighten the nipple on the valve stem, and each recess havin a lateral Wall disposed for engaging an e ge of the adjacent finger to prevent rotation of the cap in the opposite direction.

5. A dust cap as per claim 4, in which the said lateral wall of each recess and the said finger edge are both disposed in planes radial of the axis of the cap.

Signed at Chica o, July 2nd 1921.

sin EY RALPH sABEL. 

